Arr! We've made it to 'Treasure Island', laddie! Get your hands off my parrot!
There's a set of books I didn't read when I was the appropriate age, for whatever reasons. Maybe I was put off by a musty smell, or never even thought to pick them up. Maybe they were leapfrogged over in search of the next thing. I don't really know why any more, but 'Treasure Island' is one of them and is excellent. It would have been a beloved childhood read. It is the absolute epitome of the boys' adventure story, with mayhem to spare. Again, just as in the Willard Price 'Adventure' stories, there's no fear of killing off characters, nor of doing dreadful things. Pirates die horribly of fear and rum, stranglings, tramplings and shootings abound, and adventure just pops out of the book indelibly. It's ridiculously good.
Every story featuring pirates and buried treasure draws on 'Treasure Island' (unless they preceded it, using some devious device of originality). It's iconic, foundational and in some senses mythical. Every devious and untrustworthy pirate is based on Long John Silver, and every marooned lunatic is Ben Gunn. It's also a very devious story, packed with references to past events we will never see, which is fascinating, and loaded with some hints as to future events in the lives of the surviving protagonists. The concept of a story as part of a longer timeline we won't see is always a draw in a book, and is one of the reasons why one-off novels can be so interesting.
Does Polly want a cracker? A piece of eight? Eight what?
The success of 'Treasure Island' is largely due to the complexity of the pirate leader, Long John Silver, the ruthless peg-legged ship's cook, with his parrot and his deadly crutch. At times caring of Jim Hawkins, our protagonist, he is also hard-hearted and utterly untrustworthy in any change of circumstances. Yes, he's a walking paradox, and seemingly far too knowledgeable to be a pirate. It's easy to see why so many people have tried to write novels about the character. He might even be the defining pirate rogue of all time. Is 'Treasure Island' still being read by children? I wonder...
Jim Hawkins is a fine protagonist too, and is clearly having the adventure of a lifetime as the squeaky clean hero of the tale. There are almost no women, Jim's mother being the only one, but it does make sense in context. The noble officers of the ship are good too, but it's really all about Hawkins and Silver.
'Treasure Island' is a classic adventure.
O.
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